Way OT Rant - noisy kids

[Fred]

Let me start off by saying that I understand, I appreciate, and I know that kids make noise. They are _designed_ to make noise and they do. I'm sure I did when I was a kid. The difference then though, was that when we made noise, we played out. We had a derelict piece of land where a factory had been demolished which made do as our football pitch, our cricket pitch and many other things. Or we used to play on the parks, in the woods or even down at the river.

What we did not do was to create interminable noise in our own back yards/gardens.

There's a family live over the back - and four houses down - from me who have four kids of their own and who often have kids friends around as well. At the merest hint of dry weather all the kids play out in the back garden, creating so much noise that at least 10 houses around their epicentre cannot use their own gardens. We've just had our first dry, sunny day for weeks but could we get the chairs out in the garden and enjoy it? Could we hell.

About 500yds from here, round the back of the newsagents is a wood, complete with a stream. They should be spending hours down there, exploring, climbing trees, building dens, whatever.

Rant over ;-)

[Anita Palley]

Don't be so ridiculous. They will be attacked by paedophiles, foxes, knifemen, bogeymen and rottweilers before you can say Daily Mail. How would you like that on your conscience?

[David in Normandy]

Industrial ear defenders? I'm tempted to suggest angle-grinder but that would probably be illegal.

[Hugh Jampton]

I know *exactly* how you feel :-( We had years and years of this from our next door neighbours 2 young daughters + friends - noise noise noise all the time in their garden. Once I asked their mother to please stop them making the noise (went on for hours and hours). She said she'd ask them but didn't think they would agree !!!

They are now in their teens and we thought the noise had finished. Had a BBQ a few weeks back and suddenly *very* loud BOOM BOOM BOOM music came from next door's garden. Packed up the BBQ half way through, went back into the house and closed all windows and doors :-( Seems their father had equipped their summerhouse with the latest BOOM BOOM sound system. I went back out and got my shredder (*Very* loud Allen petrol shredder), placed it by the hedge next to their summerhouse, started it up and went back into the house. Not long before the father was round here demanding that we turn it off. I left it on for a bit longer and then turned it off. We've not heard any loud music since then :-) Don't think we've heard the last of it though - they are *always* right ...... :-(

[martop]

The sun brings out the idiot families every year, we have a group of feral's living near here who create a fair racket, I wish there was a river near here they could play under..,

Same thing too, a 10 house wide exclusion zone due to noise, those who think we should put up with it are more than welcome to come here and give them a day trip to some far off river....or ocean or take them camping, catterick gun range for instance......

-- Mart

[Dave Starling]

Thats a great story! Fight fire with fire. For the under 20s, you can get those plug in ultrasonic cat/dog deterrents that emit a mosquito type noise that us golden oldies can't hear (google 'the mosquito')

For the OP according to wiki, the mosquito has a max range of 61 metres. Pretty pricey though and I wonder if you could rig something similar up to a hi-fi speaker in the garden for when they are really noisy.

Dave

[A Plumber]

We have the same problem, but worse than the kids is the dog next door but one, local councils been and recorded it, threatened them with court, but it still barks, very loudly, for hours

[John Rumm]

[TheScullster]

Thats a great story! Fight fire with fire. For the under 20s, you can get those plug in ultrasonic cat/dog deterrents that emit a mosquito type noise that us golden oldies can't hear (google 'the mosquito')

For the OP according to wiki, the mosquito has a max range of 61 metres. Pretty pricey though and I wonder if you could rig something similar up to a hi-fi speaker in the garden for when they are really noisy.

Dave

There was a report on the use of those things recently. A shop owner was using one to good effect, keeping local misfits away from his shop doorway (they were intimidating shoppers and killing his trade). ISTR that there were complaints that this violated the rights not just of the misfits, but also of passers by. Because they are effective you can be sure that they'll be banned soon by european beurocracy.

Phil

[TheScullster]

"Fred" wrote

If you decide to take action, make sure that you have numerous neighbours all complaining vociferously and persistently to the environmental health noise abatement department. But make sure that complaints do not appear to have been solicited. Do not complain alone. Been there - done that. If there's only one compainant, you'll be dismiised as over-sensitive initially; if there are numerous complaints from different quarters it is more likely to be investigated/taken seriously sooner. Be aware that, despite the higher profile of this anti-social behaviour these days, measures in place to resolve this are not sufficiently agressive. Probably easier, although more costly, in the long run to engage some hired help to "educate" the adults in the importance of disciplining their off-spring.

Phil

[David in Normandy]

Have you seen the price of hitmen these day! ;-)

[Frank Erskine]

I read that as "bitumen".

[pete]

Not necessarily. I had cause to complain about a noisy neighbour. The council took my plight seriously and sent a team to investigate in person. That could be where this particular situation would have problems: if the nuisance doesn't happen within convenient working hours, it could be hard get a council worker to hear it for themselves. It's always worth keeping a written record of times/dates and comments. Getting a counter-claim for the shredder however, would seem to me to be a major step back, which a council who was looking for reasons not to spend time investigating (although they're such diligent, hardworking types I can't ever see that happening 8-o) , could then use to classify the original claim as just a domestic feud.

[Andy Burns]

I think tar and feathering is a *bit* harsh punishment for shouting in a back garden.

[Mark]

If they let their kids play near a stream or in a wood some nosy busybody will probably report the parents to the social services.

[The Natural Philosopher]

One hot summer night, I was being kept awake in the small hours by a party of squaddies who had taken over the property next to mine, and, having been up in Iraq (first gulf war)till a few days before were happily playing their boom boxes and drinking and talking 3 ft from my head the other side of a shared loft space and a 4" brick wall.

I didn't even bother to get dressed. Stark naked I went downstairs, raided my stash of fireworks, and planted three airbombs in the field behind the house, lit them and was just about back in bed when three sharp explosions rocked the house.

I had to stuff my face in the pillow. Battle reflexes had it seemed, taken over, and I think a quick patrol ensued. Nothing was ever said, and the music stopped immediately. Whether they thought their chums from the barracks, one of themselves, or me, was responsible I neither know nor care.

If you are taking independent action, it will probably rule out 'the authorities'

Never underestimate the ability of a radically detuned several hundred watt ex police base station transmitter coupled to a crude signal generator to render any audio equipment within 50 meters radius unlistenable to as well. Highly recommended for 3 a.m. crack parties in blocks of council flats. Or the 'social housing' couple next door.

It probably knocks out ADSL effectively as well.

[Jules Richardson]

Is that before or after they've broken bones by falling out of the tree, or drowned in the stream? :-)

[pete]

Broken bones heal. Most kids manage to break something while they're growing up. So long as it's not more serious (and was not from violence) it's probably of little consequence in the long run.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I had a very active young life, and have never broken more than a couple of windows as a child.

I did crack some ribs much later.

[Jules Richardson]

Yes, me too. One of those windows I managed to actually fall through, and came away with only one minor cut. I lost count of how many trees I fell out of, how many times I got mains shocks, burned myself, stepped on sharp things etc.

Kids do heal amazingly well. The daughter of one of my friends recently got her finger caught in a door and it pulled the whole tip off, leaving just the bone sticking out; they rushed her to the hospital with the tip in a pocket, and the surgeon stuck it back on - they expect her to make a full recovery, but were told that if she were a few years older they perhaps wouldn't have bothered even trying because it almost certainly wouldn't heal.

None of which changes the fact that most parents today are very reluctant to let their kids wander off and do their own thing, for fear of what might happen (and I'm sitting on the fence about whether I think that's justified or not).

cheers

Jules